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Wednesday
Apr292009
Fifteen is about music and shopping and friends
April 29, 2009
1. Yesterday I put the kids to bed after Chinua had gone out to play music with some people in the area. When they were finally settled with the eighth glass of water and hug and prayer and bathroom jaunt, I walked out onto the rooftop and sat with my back against the wall of our house. (It is the rooftop and veranda at the same time; the rooftop of the apartments below, our veranda.)
For a while I just sat, with a book, kind of reading it, and kind of listening to the moths bonk their heads repeatedly against the bare bulb above me. Slowly a sound separated itself from the sound of the moths and their bonking heads, and floated towards me. It was unmistakably the sound of my Superstar Husband playing guitar, probably on another rooftop nearby. I sat and listened to him, from rooftop to rooftop, glad to be a part of the evening.
2. So, I already told you that Chinua was out playing music last night. Today I met up with a woman that I know from Goa and she told me that he had played a new song that he wrote for me, a song called "Weave." She said many women were tearing up at the thought of a man who was so vocal about his love for his wife and his commitment to her. It is rare, it seems, in the world these days.
One woman called out, "Lucky girl!" when he finished, and he shot back with "No, lucky me!"
I am extremely blessed to be married to this man.
3. Renee and Becca and Cat are supposed to come back from their trip to Darjeeling and Assam tomorrow.
WOOOO! Oh, how I've missed them.
4. Yesterday I choked back all my fears and thoughts of my crushing lack of ability, and scouted the nearby big town for fabric for the kids' clothes. We've been having most of their clothes made in India, and I found a tailor nearby who threw together the cutest little elastic waisted pants for Leafy a couple of weeks ago. YaYa and Kid A desperately need pants, since they won't stop growing inches each day, and so off to the cloth shops I went. I entangled myself in a few polyester and sequined booby traps before making swift getaways, before finding my jackpot in a shop staffed by a lovely woman who let me know each and every bolt of fabric that was 100% cotton. There were many. There was also a man staffing the shop who was an Indian Mark Ruffalo look-alike. His Indian twin. And I emerged triumphant! Cloth for pants and shirts and one dress. Lovely.
(PS: It may sound strange or excessive to have your clothes handmade by a tailor, but it's the way things are done here. The other way things are done here is with large cartoon graphics on the front of extremely ugly and poorly made pop clothing, so we'll take the tailor route, thanks. Tailors here are also very affordable. I paid 430 rps for three pairs of pants for Leafy last time (about $9.00) and I was all, "Man, that was expensive." Because I'm frugal. Chinua says I'm a cheapskate and I need to examine my priorities. He continues to insist that clothing the children is a priority. Huh.)
5. And on that note, on the acquiring things note, may I say that my blender (known here as a mixer-grinder) that I bought in Dharamsala, works at least fifty times better than the one I had in Goa. It is like a brilliant dream of a blender, actually making the hummous creamy, the lassi frothy, the babyfood good for the toothless. I may try to find a way to get it on the train and bring it back to Goa. (PS: It cost 1000 rps less than the crap-meister we bought in Goa, the blender that believes we are asking it to tickle the spinach, rather than pureé it.)
For a while I just sat, with a book, kind of reading it, and kind of listening to the moths bonk their heads repeatedly against the bare bulb above me. Slowly a sound separated itself from the sound of the moths and their bonking heads, and floated towards me. It was unmistakably the sound of my Superstar Husband playing guitar, probably on another rooftop nearby. I sat and listened to him, from rooftop to rooftop, glad to be a part of the evening.
2. So, I already told you that Chinua was out playing music last night. Today I met up with a woman that I know from Goa and she told me that he had played a new song that he wrote for me, a song called "Weave." She said many women were tearing up at the thought of a man who was so vocal about his love for his wife and his commitment to her. It is rare, it seems, in the world these days.
One woman called out, "Lucky girl!" when he finished, and he shot back with "No, lucky me!"
I am extremely blessed to be married to this man.
3. Renee and Becca and Cat are supposed to come back from their trip to Darjeeling and Assam tomorrow.
WOOOO! Oh, how I've missed them.
4. Yesterday I choked back all my fears and thoughts of my crushing lack of ability, and scouted the nearby big town for fabric for the kids' clothes. We've been having most of their clothes made in India, and I found a tailor nearby who threw together the cutest little elastic waisted pants for Leafy a couple of weeks ago. YaYa and Kid A desperately need pants, since they won't stop growing inches each day, and so off to the cloth shops I went. I entangled myself in a few polyester and sequined booby traps before making swift getaways, before finding my jackpot in a shop staffed by a lovely woman who let me know each and every bolt of fabric that was 100% cotton. There were many. There was also a man staffing the shop who was an Indian Mark Ruffalo look-alike. His Indian twin. And I emerged triumphant! Cloth for pants and shirts and one dress. Lovely.
(PS: It may sound strange or excessive to have your clothes handmade by a tailor, but it's the way things are done here. The other way things are done here is with large cartoon graphics on the front of extremely ugly and poorly made pop clothing, so we'll take the tailor route, thanks. Tailors here are also very affordable. I paid 430 rps for three pairs of pants for Leafy last time (about $9.00) and I was all, "Man, that was expensive." Because I'm frugal. Chinua says I'm a cheapskate and I need to examine my priorities. He continues to insist that clothing the children is a priority. Huh.)
5. And on that note, on the acquiring things note, may I say that my blender (known here as a mixer-grinder) that I bought in Dharamsala, works at least fifty times better than the one I had in Goa. It is like a brilliant dream of a blender, actually making the hummous creamy, the lassi frothy, the babyfood good for the toothless. I may try to find a way to get it on the train and bring it back to Goa. (PS: It cost 1000 rps less than the crap-meister we bought in Goa, the blender that believes we are asking it to tickle the spinach, rather than pureé it.)
Reader Comments (8)
'tickle the spinach', nice!
1. Rooftops in India... I love them, and would love to sit on one with you.
2. You and Chinua are perfect together. I've been in India with you both, and would love to be there now with you, married and with a family.
3. Friends are good.
4. Fabric shops in India... aaahhh! I've made Erik two kurta shirts recently. It would be so, so much easier to just find a tailor and have them made.
5. Remember the blender John B. bought me for Christmas in Varanasi? It was great, well, great when the electricity was working anyway.
6. Thanks for writing these posts. I love getting to share these moments with you, in a far away, virtual, flat-screen Mac kind of way. I really hope we can share some real moments in the near future.
Would love to see pictures of new clothes, or anything for that matter. I check your blog every morning from the UK. Love it.
It always sounds so dreamy, Rae. I'm glad to hear that Becca is still with you. Makes me sad that your mom hasn't been able to get there yet.
Lassi! Can you tell me how to make a mango lassi?
My sisters were here visiting last week, at my house for only one day as we did the tourist thing in No. Cali., but I did a tea on our one morning here. I think of you and our other friends whenever I set the table for tea, missing you so much.
Pass on greetings to Cat & Renee, please.
Love you--
I felt weepy reading about Chin's love for you. Both of you are soooo blessed!
Glad that you found a good blender. I'd ship you what I have if I could, but I can't so it's nice you have found a good one, especially for the toothless wonder!
The tailor shops sound wonderful. How nice it would be to actually wear originals instead of "off the rack" clothes.
Thanks for sharing!
I just knew that it was only a matter of time before you wrote about your mixer-grinder. I shall no longer worry that you are hand-mashing your chickpeas.
Number two made me really smile.
Crap-Meister Spinach Tickler! Yes! I'll try my best to remember that one! It's a real crap shoot (since you're on the subject) reading your blog while my roommate is sleeping in bed. I once was told by a dear dear one that she wished she could carry me in her pocket with a volume control. I just barely controlled my volume on that one.
Well, here's one for you. "Hobo Junk Extreme." Oh gosh. That is what one of my students (I tutor you know) guessed I was drinking out of my travel mug. Shoot. I wrote it down for posterity and to entertain my other students.
I love you Rae! Class early so I'm off.